Michael Bargo Trial Day 4

Published: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 12:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 1:43 p.m.

William Fockler heard more than he wanted to at the Marion County Jail. Inside the booking area on April 19, 2011, while turning himself in for violation of probation, he shared a room with Michael Bargo.

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The response: "When I was burning that kid Seath's body, I threw a paint can in and it blew up in my face. I was just trying to make the fire hotter," Fockler testified Thursday during Day 4 of Bargo's murder trial.

Bargo told Fockler that Seath Jackson had "raped" his girlfriend and explained details of the murder.

The testimony added to a heap of evidence presented by prosecutors Robin Arnold and Amy Berndt. That evidence places Bargo at the scene the night of Seath's death and sheds light on his involvement before and after the killing.

However, the evidence so far is less definitive in depicting Bargo as the one co-defendant in this case who ultimately fired the gun at Seath.

Bargo is charged with first-degree murder. The state is seeking the death penalty. The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case today..

Fockler gave the 12-member jury this account of what Bargo told him that day at the jail:

Seath, who was 15, walked into a Summerfield house and was struck with a board and lifted into a recliner. Bargo talked some trash and then, once he was tired, shot Seath three times.

Then they dragged the body into the bathroom and tried to break his legs. But Seath revived, so Bargo retrieved the gun and shot the teen several times in the bathtub.

"They tried to burn the body, that's what he said, that's how he got burned," Fockler told the jury.

On cross-examination defense attorney Charles Holloman pointed out inconsistencies with this telling. He also noted that it took Fockler until May 20, 2011, to report what Bargo told him at the jail.

Holloman also pointed out Bargo never mentioned any of the co-defendants.

During the morning's testimony, the focus was on a pool at the bottom of a lime rock quarry where Bargo previously swam with an ex-girlfriend.

Officials testified that they found what might have been a tooth, human tissue, and other charred remains of Seath scattered around the area in April 2011.

Other experts took the stand confirming that a piece of skull and other facial components found at the quarry were consistent with DNA taken from Seath's parents, Sonia and Scott Jackson.

Experts also identified a portion of a hip bone with surrounding charred muscle tissue, small fragments of rib cartilage, and a charred kidney among other remains found inside the fire pit behind the Summerfield house. DNA tests matched with DNA from Seath's parents.

Evidence of projectiles were also found in the human remains believed to be from a male between the ages of 14 and 16, depending on aging factors.

"My opinion, the cause of death was gunshot wound or wounds and blunt-force trauma. And, my opinion, the manner of death is homicide," testified Dr. Kyle Shaw, assistant medical examiner.

On cross-examination, Holloman asked if the blunt-force trauma or the gunshot wounds were the cause of death. Shaw stated they were "concurrent causes."

Sitting behind prosecutors, Seath's parents held onto one another as pictures of the recovered evidence were projected onto the courtroom wall.

Berndt at one point wheeled a cart toward the jury, displaying the cinder blocks and cable found at the bottom of the pool near two five-gallon paint buckets. The heavy concrete blocks placed so much weight on the cart that it let out a sickening wail as Berndt wheeled it closer to the jury for a better look.

A third bucket was recovered floating near the edge of the pool.

Fred Vyse with the Marion County Sheriff's Office commanded the underwater recovery team dispatched to search the quarry and the adjacent cliff.

"It appeared something had been thrown down into the quarry," he said.

Fingerprints were not recovered from the buckets, but footprints and bucket rings were found on a dirt road leading to the quarry.

Throughout the day the 12-member jury remained alert and engaged, often scribbling on yellow notepads.

Earlier in the morning Circuit Judge David Eddy advised that one of the jurors had been taken to the emergency room and his discharge time was uncertain by 9:30 a.m. Holloman consulted with his client and then told the judge the case could proceed using the alternate juror.

"It doesn't change anything," Holloman said during the lunch recess. "We liked him but it just so happens we liked the alternate, too."

The defense appeared quieter Thursday morning, choosing not to cross-examine several witnesses.

However, Holloman did spark to life during testimony from Maria Pagan, a crime laboratory analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

She explained to the jury the process she used to compare a .22-caliber Heritage revolver in evidence to a bullet given to her by the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The bullet was inside an envelope from the Medical Examiner's Office.

"In this case I was not able to determine whether or not the bullet was fired from this particular gun," Pagan said. She explained the deteriorated condition of the bullet partially led to this conclusion.

On cross-examination Holloman pressed her further, highlighting she is an expert and yet still could not link the bullet to the gun. He asked if the bullet could match "any gun of that caliber," and Pagan agreed it could.

Former Sheriff's Office crime scene technician Victoria Lancaster testified that she found a .22-caliber revolver and two containers of live ammunition hidden in a floor vent inside Charlie Ely's Summerfield home, which is where Seath was killed.

She described the gun as dirty, rusty and "fully loaded."

On Wednesday, Michael Proctor testified that he had paid Bargo with a .22-caliber revolver for yard work Bargo had performed. He remembered giving Bargo a long rifle cylinder and a magnum cylinder.

Nicole Lee, a senior crime laboratory analyst with FDLE, testified about several blood spots taken from inside the Summerfield home. Tests found Bargo's blood on the kitchen ceiling. She also found a combination of co-defendant Kyle Hooper's and Seath's blood in a swab taken from the living room floor.

The defendant, dressed in all black, remained alert but unemotional during testimony Thursday.

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